Thursday, January 19, 2017

Mahogany’s day-long showcase of musical and theatrical work in progress with performances, talks and critical feedback sessions returns on Friday 24 February

The Finding by Lucy Bradley, Richard Melkonian and Zoë Palmer, an exploration of suffering, loss and vulnerability through female voices across generations, drawing on magical realism and incorporating a choir of mothers and babies

In a Grove by Christopher Cerrone, Stephanie Fleischmann and Brian Mertes, an immersive opera inspired by a short story by Japanese author Ryūnosuke Akutagawa examining an incident of love torn by violence from multiple perspectives

Mưa (Rain) by Dai Fujikura and Dam Van Huynh, a movement opera using the ancient art of Vietnamese water puppetry to explore life experience

Palace of Junk by Metta Theatre (Oliver Brignall and Poppy Burton-Morgan), a multimedia retelling of the tragic tale of the Collyer brothers, an infamous pair of hoarders, and an exploration into hoarding disorder

Joining these projects are two further works developed in partnership with other companies:

Traffick by Nic Chalmers and Emma-Ruth Richards, a chamber opera that unravels the experience of young men and women who have been trapped by the terrifying underground world of human trafficking. Developed with the Royal Opera House

Calamity/Billy by Théâtre de la Croix-Rousse, Gavin Bryars, Ben Johnston and Michael Ondaatje, a double portrait of two iconic wild west heroes Billy the Kid and Calamity Jane that shows a different and more intimate side to the characters

Mahogany Opera Group has announced the schedule for their Various Stages Festival, which returns on 24 February 2017 at the Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA) in London.

Mahogany are also delighted to announce that contemporary music specialists The Riot Ensemble will be a resemble ensemble for the festival, working with each of the projects to help artists explore ideas and bring their work into reality.

The programme includes showcases for all six projects in development as well as opportunities to network with other attendees.

Each showcase comprises of contextual information about the work, a short performance and a critical feedback session led by Richard Whitelaw (Sound and Music) to which attendees are invited to take part in as much or as little as they like. Each showcase will start promptly and the session will be closed once the presentation has started.